And the Winner Is...

Horror stories abound about masterpieces of modern architecture—well, some are just buildings we really, really like—that have been destroyed to make way for something tasteless or trite.

But how about those buildings that have survived?

America's largest organization of modernism fans hopes to draw attention to the value of modern architecture, not by moaning about what's been lost but by celebrating what's been saved—and by honoring the saviors.

Docomomo US (it stands for 'Documentation and Conservation of Buildings, Sites, and Neighborhoods of the Modern Movement') is putting on its first-ever awards program to thank people who restore modern buildings and sites or fight for their preservation.

Categories include 'design,' 'inventory/survey,' and 'advocacy.' Winners could include architects, owners, planners who survey modern buildings (in, say, San Francisco or Los Angeles), and individuals and groups who stand up for threatened buildings.

Deadline for applications is January 15. Winners will be announced at Docomomo's national symposium in March. Chairing the awards committee is architect James Polshek.

Theo Prudon, president of Docomomo-US and a New York architect, says the Docomomo awards are the only ones in the United States that focus specifically on modern architecture.

"We're very excited about it," Prudon says. "It's the next step in bringing advocacy [for preserving modern architecture] to the foreground."